As someone who lives in Tennessee, I am forced into watching a lot of Titans games. On the plus side, I get to see a lot of touchdowns, but they typically aren’t the kind everyone else in Nashville keeps hoping for. While I wouldn’t say The Titans are the worst team in football, they definitely have one of the worst defenses and that means you should be starting Reggie Bush without question this week. In fact, I’m going to go as far as saying I would consider starting Bush over Arian Foster this week*. Foster’s matchup against The Bears this week is particularly challenging. Yes, Chris Johnson ran for 141 yards against them last weekend, but don’t forget 80 of them came on one break-away TD run. Without it, Johnson’s numbers would have been pedestrian.
Speaking of Chris Johnson, his game against Miami won’t be an easy one. He always has the potential to break a big run as he did against Chicago, but it’s hard to count on that sort of thing.  Now might be a great week to sell high on Johnson if you can, but otherwise, take note of your alternatives and their matchups before making your decision.
Matt Forte has had a string of solid fantasy performances lately, even holding off Michael Bush to nothing more than a handcuff, but The Texans are easily one of the best when it comes to stopping the run so while Foster struggles for yards in that game, Forte will be struggling even more. Even Steven Jackson, who is coming off of a bye week, will have troubles. His schedule gets easier from here on out, but Jackson’s only real value this week is in his pass-catching ability.
On the positive end, Michael Turner owners finally saw a game with both 100+ yards and a TD last weekend and the good times should continue to roll in New Orleans. The Eagles didn’t run the ball often against The Saints on Monday, but McCoy still found plenty of holes when they gave him the ball. This could be Turner’s best week of the entire season so start him with confidence.
The Bills are also pretty awful this year when it comes to stopping the run, which should give Stevan Ridley plenty to smile about following his bye week. He scored 2 TDs off of 106 yards the first time these two teams met this year so this weekend should be no different.
Finally, if you need a sleeper pick this week, keep a VERY close eye on The Raiders’ situation this week. Both Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson are dealing with high ankle sprains, which leaves Taiwan Jones as the only remaining option. While I still wouldn’t put a great deal of faith in Jones, if he is thrown into the starting spot against Baltimore, he certainly has a very good chance to succeed. If either Goodson or McFadden make it this weekend, they immediately become must starts in almost all leagues.
* I realize this will not be a popular opinion. Â Foster’s a must start every single week, but if you’re faced with a Bush vs. Foster dilemma, I would gamble on Bush.
